'Doubt if they will work' - Dangote speaks on condition of Nigeria’s refineries despite $18 billion spent on repairs

 


The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has cast serious doubt on the viability of Nigeria’s long-troubled state-owned refineries, declaring they may never function properly again, despite the staggering $18 billion reportedly spent on their rehabilitation.


Dangote made the remarks while hosting members of Global CEO Africa at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, a state-of-the-art, privately-owned 650,000-barrel-per-day facility that began operations earlier this year. 


He recounted how his interest in building the refinery was sparked by the failure of a previous effort to privatize the refineries under the administration of late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua.


“The refineries we bought before, which were owned by Nigeria, were producing about 22 per cent of PMS. We bought them in January 2007 but had to return them due to a change in government. The managing director at that time convinced Yar’Adua that the refineries would work,” Dangote explained. 


“As of today, they have spent about $18 billion on those refineries, and they are still not working. I doubt very much if they will ever work,” he added.


He likened the repeated attempts to revamp the aging facilities in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna to trying to modernize a 40-year-old car. 


Dangote’s comments add to a chorus of criticism from prominent figures who have questioned the wisdom of continued state control over Nigeria’s refining sector. 

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